Youths gather in Arusha, Tanzania
By Elias Ngalame
Amidst the towering shadows of climate change, youths and women bear the brunt of its consequences despite making minimal contribution to global emissions.
This has placed them at the forefront of climate action. As the world convenes at COP29, Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024, the cries of youths for equitable and climate-resilient future is sounding loud and clear.
” We want Climate Justice NOW and a sustainable future”
It is against this backdrop that hundreds of youth from world’s most climate-impacted countries gathering in Arusha, Tanzania since October 8, 2024 to demand Justice.
A press Release from Green Peace says over 300 young community leaders from 100 of the world’s most climate-impacted countries have come together at a global gathering in Tanzania to co-create strategies and demands for climate action ahead of COP29.
“Taking place across this week from October 8-12, the Climate Justice Camp is the largest in-person
platform of its kind for young leaders from the Global South. Almost 1,000 people from countries on the frontlines of climate change have attended previous camps, leading to new climate initiatives around the world, and a strengthening of youth representation from frontline regions at UN COP negotiation,” the release says.
2024 marks the third edition of the event. Last year, the Climate Justice Camp was held in Beirut,
Lebanon, and in 2022 the camp took place in Nabeul, Tunisia.
The camp agenda this year features workshops on topics including conflict and demilitarization, road to COP, energy transition, adaptation and resilience, plastics pollution, and gender and climate, with the aim to create regional and international networks that can push for long-term political change.
More than 30 partner organizations, local and global, have been collaborating on the design and
program.
According to Agustin Maggio, Program Leader of Roots, lead partner of the Climate Justice Camp,
“Building community and forging alliances in spaces like this is an essential component in driving the action required for radical system change.
This year attendees of the Climate Justice Camp come from some of the most challenging contexts in the world, and disproportionately suffer the consequences of climate change every day.
It’s vital that those most impacted are at the center of global decision-making processes. Participants from previous camps have gone on to influence COP negotiations and loss and damage discussions, start youth-led NGOs, form regional and global coalitions, and develop campaigns that have led to real change in their communities.”
“Hosting the Climate Justice Camp in Tanzania this year marks a significant moment for Africa and the
broader Global South. Our continent has been at the forefront of climate impacts, yet African communities continue to rise with resilience and leadership. This gathering is more than just a
dialogue; it’s an opportunity for African youth to unite, strategise, and build alliances that will shape climate action from the grassroots to global platforms. We are here to amplify our voices, showcase African solutions, and ensure our demands for climate justice are heard loud and clear,” says Cynthia Moyo, Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, a Climate Justice Camp.
Partners for the Youth Climate Justice Camp project include,Action Aid International, African Coaching Network, Africans Rising, Amnesty International,ANGRY, CAN Arab World, Care About Climate, Climate Activist Defenders, Ecofront, EcoWave etc.
